In contrast to all this doom and gloom I met an Australian lady this morning who cried at the wonderful history and architecture of England and said how much she'd love to live here. I did mention that quite a few wish to leave and she explained that, despite the issues that she was well-informed about, the country is still the best she knows of.

I quite enjoyed our chat, in an abbey that traces its roots back over 1000yrs, to well before the last wave of immigrants - the ones whose descendants are still in charge and have all the money and land.